White Day, Spite Day
by akaisherry47
Summary: For Kyoko, March 14th is the day she admits that Pandora's Box is reopened. For Kanae however, it's a day of reckoning...
1. A Premonition

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any copyrights mentioned in this story.

Author's notes: This is my first time writing for this fandom, so please bear with me if I wasn't able to get the feel right. I haven't written anything like this in a long time so again, this is a step out of my comfort zone. Some of the names might not be accurate, so feel free to correct me so I can edit it.

Kanae-centric - the premise of this story pretty much explains why Kyoko isn't going to make any real appearances here (since she's supposed to be talking to the president around the time this story's supposed to happen). There's already a thousand or so different stories about her in this site alone so I'm gonna give Kanae a chance to shine here instead. Also, I don't feel very confident writing about Kyoko at this point.

As far as recent chapters go, the aftermath of Kanae's Vain Day (as it will be called here) remains to be seen. There's a good chance it'll be shown in the future, but for now, allow me to put my own spin on it. Kyoko's White Day was already heavy, so I figured a lighter story for Kanae would serve as a good contrast to it.

* * *

__"How long has it been since the first time I was in this studio?"__ Kanae Kotonami recalled as she treaded along the shadowed hallway leading to the limelight. A limelight she had finally reached. __"Two years... Three years, maybe? ...All I remember is that it was when we were asked to support Bridge Rock's first hosting stint...__

__"... It just seems like a distant memory, even though it was such an important step in launching the careers of some of LME's prized talents, namely myself, the greatest actress and endorser in all of Asia; KYOKO, now the most in-demand Asian actress and endorser in Hollywood after the legendary Kuu Hizuri officially took her under his wing following Box R's success in the international scene; and Bridge Rock, hosts of the highest-rated variety show in Japan over the last decade."__

A smile, both of content and conceit, creased her lips. Indeed, each of them have come a long way since those humble beginnings. Well, not entirely humble in her case. __"Looking back, it turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone involved. I avoided what could have been a big blemish in my career... She learned a valuable lesson in this business and, in spite of what I originally intended to happen and what the producer told her that day, earned her first regular spot as the rooster Bo... Bridge Rock was able to get their first stint over without a hitch and soon became comfortable as hosts.__

__"Now, they'll have the honor of interviewing me for the first time since winning my second consecutive grand slam in Japan's major award-giving bodies for film..."__

Kanae sighed deeply as she peered at the celebration waiting for her on the horizon, taking in every bit of her milieu. From the array of lights that will never be bright enough to stress her exalted presence; the "Kanae-sama" chants and roars from the crowd – a soothing chorus she never gets tired of; the positions of each camera, broadcasting this momentous occasion live on golden time, to hundreds of thousands of TV sets and smartphones all across the nation, and of course, the topic of this interview that wasn't her: her trophies, all hallmarked in a glass case similar to where she puts them back home and being paraded along for her fans to see. Considering the stellar performances that earned each and every one of them, they were nothing but cheap trinkets.

But no matter how trivial these are, she accepted each of them wholeheartedly, for they are testaments to the dues she paid and the success she achieved in turn.

From the myriad of signs and banners behind the camera, Kanae instantly noticed one, held up by one of the show's staff. Her cue to finally come up the stage. With her arms crossed and an indignant look on her face, she walked to the center beside the hosts. Unlike with other celebrities, her fans never thought of this as a sign of rudeness, their cheers growing even louder at the sight of her trademark confidence. __"That's right, ____President Takarada____. As long as you're skilled enough, you don't need ____to grovel for____ others to love you____.____"__

After the brief introduction that opened the show, Bo nimbly frolicked towards Kanae and escorts her to a bar stool provided for the guest.__"It's definitely her inside. She must have come back all the way from Los Angeles just to congratulate me. Really, this girl... If she keeps ignoring the fact that we're also rivals, I'm breaking into Hollywood myself to snatch her title..."__ She took advantage of a blind angle provided by her back to smile wryly at the mascot.

To start off the show, One of the hosts, Yuusei, asked Kanae how she feels about being a guest on Kimagure Rock.

"A little nostalgic. I don't know how many of you remember this, but I was helping out backstage during the show's first episode, when Sho Fuwa's the guest." Other celebrities talk about their first breaks with gratitude, even going to as much detail as they could like mentioning names only the obsessive fans would bother to jot down. But not Kanae, who would rather die than relive hust how close she got to being that overweight mascot.

"Yeah, we remember seeing you with Ky-"

Suddenly, Hikaru covers Yuusei's mouth and asked another question instead. Kyoko being the main Bo was still a secret, apparently. "So how do you feel now that you're the guest?"

"Confident. Because I know my appearance will earn this show's highest rating ever." Kanae smirked, punctuating her bold statement. A passionate applause from her fans rattled the set in an instant.

When the audience finally calmed down, Hikaru brought up the award she received only recently, the one that completed her second grand slam. "Did you expect winning it for the second straight year?" The camera rolled away from Kanae for a moment to focus on the glass case on the left side of the stage.

"Yes and no. Yes, because after seeing my opponents' performances, I would have to say none of them deserved the award, let alone the nomination. And no because frankly, I wasn't satisfied with my performance either," Kanae said. She had always believed that brutal honesty's always better than a feigned humility everyone can see through anyway. Her loyal subjects agree of course, if the applause that came after her answer meant something.

"As expected from Kotonami-san! Always striving to be the best!" Hikaru waited for the audience's murmurs to cease before moving on with the next question. "So what did you do after receiving the trophy?"

"I just went home and ordered a new case online since the trophy wouldn't fit in my old one anymore."

"You didn't go to the after-party?" Yuusei followed up.

"No. It was too much of a hassle to try to mingle with people, especially those who hold a grudge against me for losing an hour ago. Besides, I don't want to ruin my diet and my biological clock by staying there needlessly." Her fans cheered again afterwards.

"Kotonami-san really doesn't like mixing it up with others, eh," the third host, Shinichi, commented.

"It's rare to find celebrities who could make a solid barrier between work and personal life the way Kotonami-san does these days." added Hikaru.

"Gives her an air of mystery us guys would love to figure out, don't you think?" Yuusei said.

While the Bridge Rock trio exchange nods and opinions away from the mic, Bo pattered into the scene, a basket of eggs in hand.

"Oh, so I guess it's that time again," Hikaru announced as the mascot stops beside Kanae. "Everyone looks forward to this week after week, ourselves included."

While Bridge Rock busied themselves by firing up the crowd for the upcoming segment, Kanae remembered how Kyoko tried to sabotage her dear childhood friend's guesting by replacing the questions with her own humiliating ones – she found out about it when she, out of a nagging curiosity she couldn't shrug off, cornered a troubled Kyoko into spitting everything out. Following the ironic success of that, the show has decided to allow journalist-level questions from the audience and in social media as long as the censuring committee allowed it and answering them won't take too long.

"Now, we know you already know how this works, Kotonami-san, but we're going to explain it to you anyway." Yuusei started, gesturing for the camera to zoom towards the basket in Bo's wings. "In these eggs are questions we gathered from our live audience as well as those active on social media moments before we started airing."

"None of us know what's inside these eggs except the person who wrote the question," Shinichi took over. "It could be something as simple as your hobbies or your favorite stuff or your opinion on current affairs."

"Or it can be something as personal as, say, your real name, or the first role you failed to get. You know how nosy our fans can get," Hikaru said the last part jokingly, garnering some laughter from the audience. "Of course it's up to you whether you wanna answer or not. So... Whenever you're ready, just pick one."

__"But whatever happened to Sho Fuwa that day, it won't happen to me!"__Kanae swore to herself as she stared at the pile of artificial eggs.__"I've taken great care of my career and image all this time, making sure that no journalist c____ould____ ever write ____anything____ bad about me ____unless they made it up. And I did all that without LME covering for me like they do with Tsuruga. I____f anyone ____here ____dares what those media people can't do... I'll shut them up just the same."__

Certain that she could handle whatever's thrown at her, Kanae randomly picked her poison, the farthermost egg in the basket as it turns out, and tossed it to the hosts. Being the one in the middle, Hikaru was the one to catch it. He didn't waste any time breaking it, as excited as everyone was about what's inside. On reflex, the other two leaned over his shoulder and took a peek at the lucky paper.

"Whoa... That's a very intimate question there," Yuusei commented as a forewarning to Kanae.

"Right. Very, very intimate," Shinichi repeated.

Hikaru, meanwhile, did not say a word, his eyes fixed on the question as if internalizing it.

Judging from the suspicious faces they were making, Kanae sensed that the question bordered on something quite personal and embarrassing, like when they asked about Sho Fuwa's real name. Not about to withdraw her resolve however, she indifferently said, "I don't know when I'll be able to make an appearance here again, so whatever it is... Bring it so long as its appropriate."

"Well, it is appropriate, we'll give you that," Hikaru finally spoke, his attention still glued at the piece of paper. "But are you sure you really wanna answer? There's no taking back if you say yes."

"Just get it over with already!" the actress demanded.

"Alright! You heard it folks! Kotonami-san will brave her first question!"

The crowd clamored rabidly upon the declaration, the "Kanae-sama" chants roaring fervidly across the studio. The lively bunch that they are, Bridge Rock fires up the crowd even more, initiating a rhythmic clap to go along with the chants, that went on until the floor manager gestured to her watch to remind them of the program proper. They decided to cap the cheers with a countdown before reading the question aloud, for an added suspense.

Three!

Two!

One!

And so, the moment of truth...

"What's the real score between you and Hiou Uesugi?" Hikaru finally asks.

…..

...Again, there was a countdown, this time a silent one.

Three...

Two...

One...

Kanae finally opens her mouth...

"... Eh?" was all she could inaudibly utter after processing the question inside her head, or failing to do so, rather.

Thus, the entire show was stymied, the audience at hand as well as the hosts waiting in bated breath for the answer the actress couldn't give as promised. Even her fans watching elsewhere were taken aback by the colorless face she had on. Screenshots of it were beginning to flood the Internet as well, some of them being shared through the show's page.

"...What's the question again?" she added in the same, hapless manner.

"Uhh... What's the real score between you and Hiou Uesugi-kun?" Hikaru repeated cautiously.

...Another countdown ensued inside Kanae's head, this one more akin to a ticking time bomb.

Three.

Two.

One.

…

Boom.

"...Who the hell asked that damn question?!" Kanae's temper exploded the instant the question sunk in her head.

However, nobody heard her. Everyone was too busy reacting and voicing their opinions to the person beside them.

"They're dating?"

"Well, rumors about them going out has been around for a looong time. Some even say they're now engaged."

As good as her ears were, Kanae could hear most what they whispered about, but she couldn't tell who said what. Even the hosts' voices got jumbled with the other, louder male voices in the set. "W-w-wait a minute-! W-we're not going out and we're definitely not getting married! W-w-we're just friends!" she finally said.

But as soon as the words are registered in her head, she regretted it deeply. How could she blurt out an obvious lie spoken by every actress in every interview when denying any flirtatious relations with someone, on live TV even?

"Oh, I heard of that too. They say Kotonami-san and Uesugi-kun go way back from their Miyako Minamori days."

"Come to think of it, they both have the same snobbish personality, and there's plenty of pictures of them having lunch in magazines. Hmmm... Maybe they are a good match."

"T-t-those aren't even counted as 'going out'! It's the norm for co-stars to eat together, you know!" she continued argue, only to fall unto deaf ears.

"But wasn't Uesugi-kun just... ten... twelve years old then?"

"You know what they say... Age doesn't matter so long as there's love."

Unable to take any more of her subjects' insolence, Kanae finally snapped. "WHAT KIND OF IDIOT SAID SUCH THING?! THERE'S NEVER ANY LOVE IN RELATIONSHIPS LIKE THAT! ONLY DESIRE TO PLEASE THE OLDER PERSON'S EGO OR THE YOUNGER'S NECESSITIES!"

Suddenly, Bo's enormous shadow loomed over Kanae...

"FOOL! HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE VERY CONCEPT OF LOVE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!" the rooster bawled out, startling Kanae off her stool and on the floor.

The raven-haired actress gasped fearfully, recognizing the rooster's manner of speaking. "T-that voice... I-it can't be-"

At last, the Bridge Rock trio heard her dire calls, but their intention wasn't to aid her, but instead, set the tone for the next part of her execution. "Oh, we forgot to tell you. Since our regular Bo couldn't come because he's still traveling abroad, our other special guest volunteered to try on the suit."

The moment Bridge Rock said it, Kanae was a hundred percent certain who was inside. There was only two people who'd wear it willingly as far as she was concerned, and as much as she wanted it to be Kyoko, with her uncanny ability to imitate other people's speech patterns, she knows Kyoko wouldn't go through these lengths just to embarrass her bestfriend, even if she actually bore a grudge for the times she was insulted by her. Which leaves the other, more probable culprit...

"And without further ado, let's hear it for our special guest, LME's one and only president, Mr. Lory Takarada!" A hail of glittered confetti falls from the rafters when Bo took center stage, a spotlight zeroing in on him as he removed his headwear to reveal the not-so-mysterious person inside. The crowd, completely stolen for Kanae who had fallen from grace, both figuratively and literally, were completely awed by the surprise appearance of this distinguished personality. And as funny as the president looked when he, in Bo's large body, bowed gentlemanly, all of them clapped like they had just witnessed a Broadway-caliber skit.

Humiliated and upstaged at a show intended to celebrate her excellence, Kanae was in no mod for her boss's antics. "What the hell are you doing in my show?!" she demanded.

Putting back on Bo's cute chubby face, President Lory explained, "For starters, my company still produces this show. That means I can come here whenever I want. And when I heard my favorite LoveMe member's slated to guest, I just couldn't pass up the chance."

She raises an awkward eyebrow. "I-isn't M-Mogami your favorite member?"

"But Mogami-kun's not here anymore." The president held his wings up to his chest as if reminded of a heartbreaking departure scene in a drama. "As much as it pained me to see her go, when she confessed that she had fallen for someone and had finally rediscovered that long-lost feeling of love, all I could do was give her my utmost blessing."

Hearing about her friend's supposed confession, Kanae was quite piqued. "You mean she finally admitted she likes that lady-killer?"

"Yes, but I didn't come here to talk about that, Kotonami-kun."

Kanae could picture the president's face underneath the stuffy rooster head: its definitely the one he had when he scolded her and Kyoko for making a mockery out of LoveMe's principles and said drastic measures had to be taken.

"Of all the members of the LoveMe section, YOU'RE the one who has scored the lowest number of points!" President Lory points an accusatory finger at her. "Even Amamiya-kun earned more positive stamps in one month than you have for a whole year! At this rate, you'll never get that big debut like Mogami-kun had in Hollywood!"

Unable to digest getting compared to Kyoko and Chiori in a field as silly as getting love points, Kanae finally gathered herself up. She had to make a stand. "Well, I don't need your company's help with that anymore! Just look at all my trophies!"

"Trophies?"

"Why do you think we're having this segment right now? Are you seriously gonna play dumb like Mogami when she's wearing that stupid costume? I expected a lot more from you, President!" The actress smirked.

However, she didn't get the humbled response she was vying for. Instead, President Lory chuckled as if mildly amused.

"W-what's so funny?"

"Perhaps it is you who should take another look at your 'trophies', Kotonami-kun."

Aware that her boss must be drawing his confidence from somewhere, she did as she was told. When she finally laid eyes on the case...

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY TROPHIES?!"

….All it contained were trophies carved out of blocks of chocolate. Not a trace of gold and silver could be found inside other than the wrappers and ornaments surrounding the treats.

"You still don't realize it, eh?" The president in the rooster suit snickers wickedly. "That your grand slam victories, as well as this interview, were nothing but a__dokkiri__I organized to make you realize your ineptitude!"

For the first time in a long time, Kanae had nothing to say. A lifetime of accomplishment reduced into calorie monsters of different varieties. Classic, white, dark - there's one of each type inside the case, like a display at a confectionery convention.

"To be easily deceived by something like this... It only proves that you've learned nothing after all this time." The president shook his head in utter disappointment. Just like his post-Valentine's Day reproach, his remorse was short-lived. "And as punishment for slacking off as a LoveMe member, I hereby proclaim that you will not get any more roles in any drama in any network in any country until you graduate from LoveMe!" The mascot costume casts a shadow bigger than the one that toppled Kanae over.

"Really? And how are you gonna do that?" she fired back sarcastically but without any resolve. There wasn't any more grit left in her after receiving the shock of her life.

"I'm a very influential man, Kotonami-kun. If I want to put pressure on a game company for making a love simulation where the characters don't end up together, I only need to make a couple of calls from my office and they'll revise the game immediately."

"...I figured as much..." While it is possible to overcome the likes of Erika Kouenji with talent alone, going up against LME's head honcho is an entirely different battle. "...Is there any way I can prevent you from ruining my career?"

"Of course. Do you really think I'm such a cruel person?

"...Is that a rhetorical question?"

"How cold," the president broke down to comical tears. "As I was saying, there is a way for you to escape punishment. However, it won't depend on you alone."

"Well... Not like I have

"I will only lift your sentence if you receive a return gift from Uesugi-kun for the chocolate you gave him with all your heart on Valentine's Day."

When President Takarada said "with all her heart", Kanae's face was drained of all color except one: red. "Hey! I-I didn't give him those chocolates because I li-"

But the president wasn't done. "And no, its not going to be just a simple gift. It must be three times worth your chocolate! Be it a more expensive chocolate, jewelry, a stuffed bear, even clothing or swimsuits for the coming summer."

"Are you crazy?! That's extortion! A-and how could someone like Hiou-kun give swimsuits of all things?!" she exclaimed, having found her second wind.

"That was just an example. You can find it online if you search for White Day present suggestions." President Lory clears his throat, making a sound similar to a rooster groaning. "In any case, it must be thrice the value of what you have given. Otherwise, you'll have to give him another__honmei__choco every subsequent Valentine's Day until he finally gives you one that passes the standard."

"But that's impossible!" Kanae protests against the highly-unreasonable condition. Where in the world is she supposed to get the guts to make chocolates for Hiou-kun every year? "I swear, if there's any alternative, I'll do it without any complaints!"

"Well, you can admit on national television that you've fal-"

"Fine. I'll wait for a White Day present," Kanae agrees coldly, reluctantly, refusing to hear the rest of the other choice. Whatever it is, its most likely an equivalent of career suicide.

At last, she got on the same page with President Lory, who suddenly grabbed both her hands. "That's the spirit, Kotonami-kun. I'm sure you'll do fine like Mogami-kun did when she admitted everything to me." After one final encouraging tap on her shoulder, he patters out of the studio through the tunnel she came in when the show started, his clucking echoing until he was too far away to be heard. Only then did Kanae notice that the hosts, as well as the audience, have already left the studio, leaving only a handful of crew to pack up, all of which were too busy finishing their last task to notice that she was still on stage. Group by group, the lights were turned off, and one by one, the remaining staff heads home, leaving her all alone in a lifeless room, devoid of the energy the program generated not too long ago, wondering how in the world is she ever going to get Hiou-kun to give her a present worth thrice the respect she had confessed to him on Valentine's Day, and what kind of present it will be...

Soon after, even her musings disappear in the darkness.

Kanae Kotonami gasped as her eyes snapped open, her body slowly, instinctively shaking off the numbness until she was able to pull herself upright. As hazy as her head felt, she quickly noticed a drastic change with her surroundings. Gone were the bright lights and the cameras and the fans and the hosts at the TBM studio, and in its place, her futon and pillows, her personal effects, the cool breeze and total darkness of her bedroom. "So it was all just a dream, huh..." Kanae wasn't sure whether she'd be relieved that the roller-coaster ride was over, or incredibly pissed that she had to embark on it at all. Seeing no point deciding which is which, she groggily reached for her phone to check the time.

"Oh, hell..." It was a little past four in the morning. Two hours short of a six-hour slumber. Two hours deprived from her by a reason as childish as a bad dream. It can only be a sign of a grueling day ahead. As if her regular days aren't grueling enough.

Figuring that forcing the remaining hours on her body and risking the chance of oversleeping wouldn't do her any better than starting her day earlier than usual, the actress pulled herself from the bedding. "I probably should try for more points than usual if I don't want that dream to become a reality..." she muttered grumpily as she went through her schedule for the day. Other than the time she had to log in at LME, she only had one gig set – a short interview and pictorial with the cast of "Myako Minamori" at 8:30 in the morning. Since she was already awake and had nothing much to do with the hours she had failed to sleep in, Kanae figured an early start would be a good way to impress the reporters as well as the veterans on her show.

But another look at the date made her reconsider.

It was March 14th.

"I wonder what she'd call today's occasion?" She tried to imagine Kyoko making a pun out of today's occasion like she did its counterpart from a month ago. It probably would've been fun fidning a word that easily rhymes with "white" if she had spent her "Vain day" in utter apathy in spite of President Takarada's ultimatum. But she caved and gave a chocolate away, and now she must endure the backlash of doing so. In fact, Kanae could vividly picture how things would go if she arrived on the set early. _"__They'd think I'm too eager to see him and get my return gift..._

_"__Hmmm__...Maybe I should just call in sick,"_ she considered. She was playing a minor role anyway, so she probably won't be missed. But then, putting aside the fact that it goes against her principles and everything was already settled and paid for, not only show up would only make her contemptible in the eyes of her co-workers, and maybe even Hiou-kun too. _"What kind of idiot thought about this custom of returning chocolates on Mar__c__h 14__th_ _anyway__?! It's more spiting than it is flattering, giving girls something that would make them fat!"_ Kanae mentally vented, her hand scrambling through her still-disheveled locks in frustration.

After a few seconds' silence, the raven-haired actress took a deep breath and reminded herself one important thing: that she gave Hiou-kun those chocolates because she **_respects_** him. A lot. Definitely not on the same league as Kyoko's admiration for her Tsuruga-senpai – if asked, Kanae would say that that boat has sailed off to the sea a long time ago, with the great Ren Tsuruga saddling it – but was definitely on the same pedestal as the respect she had developed for Kyoko as an actress after all they've been through as members of the LoveMe section, though unlike Hiou, Kanae wouldn't tell her any of that, not until she's finally ready to die in horror and shame of being glomped all day. Compared to that, a gloomy Kyoko was a lot easier to deal with.

It didn't cross her mind then that a part of her dream would actually come true later in the day.

But more than the murmurs and the open ridicule she'd probably get from her co-stars and their crew, she was actually more worried about the possibility of Hiou-kun not showing up because of how that accursed day turned out. She did shove her "assortment of firsts" onto him, right after that stooge mocked him in front of everyone. He seemed alright when they exchanged texts last night though, like nothing awkward happened at all. Mostly rants about how much of a pain some of their co-workers are... Well, she wouldn't deny sending him a few ice-breakers like "how's work" and "are you home now?" or messages of concern like "go to bed" since there were irrefutable records of it. Nothing she hasn't asked or said to him before...

...Okay, so they are texting and mailing each other, on top of having lunch together frequently and hanging out during breaks. Big deal. Its not like they ever talk about personal or dangerous topics, or worse, do anything of the sort, and there's enough evidence of that to shut up those who think otherwise. To Hell with that moron whose name didn't deserve to be remembered at all and the narrow-minded people who has grown fond of calling her a pedophile since Vain Day. _"That's right. Whoever I gave those chocolates to and whatever my reason for giving it is... Its nobody else's business but mine. I don't care what anyone else thinks about it,"_ Kanae rehearsed in her mind. If there was an exception to it, it's Kyoko, but only because she was the one who taught her how to make homemade chocolate. _"And honestly, I don't care if he returns it or not... Besides, he' __probably wouldn't__ anyway... Seeing how I forced the chocolate on him..."_

President Lory's threat, particularly the one from her dream, came to mind...

_"Fine. __Supposing that__ Hiou-kun's actually going to give me anything today... And that I actually care about getting anything,"_ she began to ponder._ "...If I gave him those chocolates out of respect... Does that mean... He respects my abilities as an actress too?"_ The thought settled on a lounge seat inside her head for a while.

Only the huffing of the AC was heard over the next half-minute. _"But if that's the case... It's not thrice the worth of what I gave him... It'll just make things even..."_

Eventually, the mental seat's forelegs snap, unable to hold the thought's sheer weight. _"Mou! The longer I stay with LME, the faster I'll lose my sanity!"_ Kanae gnarled, messing her hair even more. Giving up trying to find that elusive silver lining in her predicament, she stormed off to the showers. If she was going to dig her own grave today, might as well do it fighting like a true pro, starting with being on time.

_"Expecting something in return for chocolate... It's just... Embarrassing..."_

* * *

Chapter End.


	2. A Risk Almost Taken

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any copyrights mentioned in this story.

Author's notes: First of all, to those who have read the first part and are reading this now, thank you so much for at least giving this story another shot despite the aforementioned warning of Kyoko not being in this outside of Kanae's introspection. I could only hope this is coming out decently at least, as I'm still in the middle of exploring this world.

* * *

It may have been quite the hassle that it always was, but for the first and probably the only time in her life, Kanae was grateful that the everyday crowd at Tokyo Station had kept her from getting to the location too early. She got to the station platform at around seven, but couldn't board the train until ten minutes later. It would have been better if she didn't have to jostle with them while boarding and securing a seat (ultimately, she couldn't), but for actresses like her who don't have a manager to drive her around (unlike Chiori) and could only get parts in dramas that had very little to with the main plot (unlike Kyoko), it was a reminder that she was still bound to the world outside the glitz and the glamour, and that she still has a l.

The commute to Tokyo Skytree, the location for the shoot, took about thirty minutes, and an additional five to get to the lower observation deck where the first half will be shot. The theme for the pictorial wasn't very extravagant – business casual attire on a panoramic backdrop at one of the highest peaks in Japan. The interview, on the other hand, will be held at a restaurant in the lower observation deck over breakfast, and will be done by a very reputable reporter for her regular column in a top-selling entertainment magazine. Seeing that almost every one of her co-stars were already dressed for the shoot, Kanae rushed to the restroom to change into one of the outfits she brought - a violet one-button slim blazer, a burgundy button-down blouse, black skinny jeans that can be worn with pretty much anything, and a pair of black leather pumps. She accessorized the get-up with a conservative set of silver jewelry, nothing too expensive but looks the part anyway. Once she was done, she lolled on a chair provided for the cast while waiting for her turn at the make-up booth.

As she took a much-needed breather, she watched her co-stars chatting and sharing laughs from a distance. Two people she quickly noticed missing from the bunch were Hiou and his manager, Matsuda. She couldn't resist frowning slightly over this discovery. Save for them, she never really mingled with any of her co-stars off the set unless she had questions about the script. A huge chunk of it stemmed from her not being the sociable type to begin with, while some of it, from the fact that not one of them made a good enough impression on her. Even if she lowered her bridges now, it would only do her worse after what happened on Vain Day. Since that day, a bunch of them started darting odd looks at her and whispering with one another afterwards, probably exchanging comments on what a cradle-snatcher she was for all she cared. She didn't need to hear it straight from their lips to know that's what they thought of her. Those glances alone screamed of it like some crazed fangirl at a rock concert. _"They're no different from the starlets at LME who think we at LoveMe are nothing but kiss-ups. I swear, I will make these people bow before me like those trainees did once I get my first starring role," _Kanae swore to herself. The feeling of alienation was like second nature to her anyway, and long before Kyoko or Hiou arrived in her life she thrived in it.

But that was then and, as much as she hated to admit it, she had undergone some... changes since, and now a part of her longed for the warmth of camaraderie like she experienced during the Kyurara audition with Kyoko.

She then remembered some photos Kyoko showed her after making chocolates on that cursed day, particularly those taken on the set of Dark Moon, a mixed bag of behind-the-scenes and candid shots. Almost every picture explained the show's utter success better a bundle of essays ever would. Not only did everyone look passionate about filming no matter what their roles were in every shot, but everyone seemed to get along real well on and off the camera. Kyoko, for one, was quite chummy with that Itsumi Momose: they were often seen side by side on the photos, talking, smiling like they were the closest friends in the industry. Kanae found those the most irritating to look at. Then again, just who was she to feel irritated at the sight of Kyoko being friendly with someone else if the other person means her friend well anyway?

_"I wonder how it's going to be when I finally land a role in a project she's also a part of," _Kanae tried to imagine. As if to answer her question, a clip of Kyoko babbling about how she used their "beautiful friendship" as inspiration to grasp her role in Sho Fuwa's PV replayed in her head. _"...Okay. Its probably gonna be much worse than her glomping me all day. Let's leave it at that until it actually does happen." _She couldn't help but blush a little thinking about Kyoko endorsing her as her one and only best friend to everyone. Not that she bore any regrets in being Kyoko's first real female friend.

If there's one thing she'd come to regret doing though, albeit unconsciously, it was showing this moment of weakness to the one person involved in this production she absolutely wanted nothing to do with.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here? I know! Lady pedo daydreaming about her midget prince!" the sorry excuse for a musician-slash-ham actor whose name Kanae never bothered remembering made his presence known in the worst way: by getting under her skin. "You're probably thinking, 'will he give me chocolates today? Will he return the love I gave him on Valentine's Day? Oh, I feel so young again'," he blurted under a derisive feminine voice before bursting into laughter. "Wow! I can read your mind so easily, I could probably make it as a psychic!"

"Great. Just when I was already starting to forget about White Day, this moron shows up," Kanae muttered, sinking her face into her palms. Now she's sure her face is red. Red with fury, that is. To misinterpret her so horribly, he really was one of the biggest idiots she's ever met in her life. And she thought he'd become a lot less annoying after doing what she did to him when he insulted Hiou... But no. Idiots like him never learn. Trying to level with him, or worse, talking sense to him would always be as much of a wasted effort as when she constantly rejected his advances. Hiou was right when he said she shouldn't be talking to people like him in the first place. They get their kicks sucking everyone's patience dry as soon as they sink their teeth on it.

_"No. I'm not going to take your bait anymore," _her will reinforces. She would just sit still and wait patiently for make-up to finally call her, or maybe the photographer or any one of her co-stars to steal his or her attention away. No matter how bad she wanted to, she won't bash him with the chair she was on. Not even a menacing glare, since he'd only take it as her version of a fond look.

"What's the matter? Where's that whip of love you used to lash on me, huh?" Still, it was tough to ignore morons who insistently get in your face. Especially when you're still cranky from a preempted slumber and weary from having to stay alert in that condition inside the train with a topsy-turvy bunch. "A-ha! Don't tell me this kitty cat loses her bite during mating season!" As he said it, the obnoxious musician-actor did his usual finger-gun gesture that never failed to test Kanae's patience to the limit.

_"Maybe I should ask Maria if she has one of those finger-crunching vices the Europeans used to use on suspected witches," _Kanae pondered, using all her will to try to fend off his existence. But the temptation of breaking this guy's index fingers for real kept roaring louder by the second.

"Oh, my bad. You're not a kitty cat anymore... And yet you still like playing with cubs!" He was the one laughing at his jokes now. Even Fujino, the reporter who was having her coffee at a nearby chair, as well as the other female stars were starting to get pissed off. Not only was he being too loud, he has also breached a major taboo in making fun of her age.

"Really! I can't believe you'd rather go out with him than me! To think he's not even half the man or the artist I am! Literally!"

It was all he needed to say to cut the last thread...

_"That's it. You've crossed the line."_ Incredibly-irate, Kanae stood up and hoisted the chair she was sitting on, but before she could do anything with it, two of the lighting crew lifts the ham actor off the floor.

"W-what's the meaning of this?! Put me down!" he tried to break free, but his arms seemed like that of a child's compared to the biceps wrapped around it. "Put me down or I'll-!"

Before the singer-actor could even come up with some form of threat, Fujino empties her disposable cup, gets up and approaches them. "Oh. Didn't your handler inform you that we're not including you in this feature anymore? I thought I called him about it last night," she explained. "Instead, we agreed on publishing a write-up for your upcoming album. They said you needed more publicity for that than your role in this drama."

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you do both!" he demanded, looking all angered and embarrassed at the same time. "I'm sure I did a better job on this show than some third-generation spoiled brat and his pedophile girlfriend!"

The reporter shook her head, a smirk on her face telling just how silly this situation is getting. "Fine, I'll tell you," Fujino started, clearing her throat to let him know she's gonna be all-business now. "Based on public feedback... Let's just say they strongly believe that acting isn't for you and you should focus more on your music while you still can. According to recent tallies, your last single earned pocket change compared to Sho Fuwa's latest chart-topper. Even your agency thinks you need to stop insisting on crossing over and put something good out soon or else you'll get lost in the shuffle. Believe me, we're really doing you a favor here."

Hearing this, Kanae sealed her lips for dear life. _"Basically, she said she won't interview you because you suck at acting."_ If Hiou or Kyoko were here with her, she probably wouldn't be able to resist cackling mad.

His ego still deflecting anything that doesn't please it, the underachieving singer-actor took one last shot, at someone who wasn't even around no less. "That Uesugi kid did this, didn't he?! He pulled some weight with his mommy and daddy's name just so he can hog the spotlight again!"

"What a rude thing to say! Hiou-kun's not even going to be here today!" Fujino chided, furious. "Boys, take him away before I start writing some dirt about him." She and Kanae watched on as the lighting crew evicted the singer-actor from the set. His resistance, both verbal and physical, got him nowhere but on the nerves of his "escorts". "And I seriously thought he was going to be successful five years ago like Sho Fuwa or Vie Ghoul are today. I guess fame got to his head a little too soon." After a deep sigh, the reporter wheeled around to check on Kanae. "You okay, Kotonami-san?"

"Yes, but," the long-haired actress hesitated at first, but went ahead with it eventually, "...Is Hiou-kun-"

"About that, Uesugi-kun's manager called last night to say they can't make it because he seemed too burned out when they got home from his shoot last night."

"R-really?" she asked, unable to prevent herself from getting worried and from showing it in front of Fujino.

"You know how back-breaking this industry is, especially for someone as young as he is. If you're not paying close attention to your health, eventually, stress takes its toll on your body until it gets to a point where its no longer a question of whether you're professional enough to still go to work if you become ill or not."

"That's true..." Kyoko's tirade about a sick Ren during her substitute manager task comes to the actress's mind, but it didn't do much to ease her concern for the younger Hiou. _"I guess I'll just call Matsuda-san later when I get to the LME building..."_ For a second though, she assumed Hiou has decided to avoid her today on purpose, but after hearing the journalist's explanation she was able to get past that crazy idea her lack of sleep must've concocted.

At least for the time being.

"In any case, thanks for taking care of that idiot, Fujino-san," Kanae deviated.

"Don't mention it," the reporter replied. "I'm just sticking out for cougars like myself."

"Cougar?"

"Well, I'll let you in on a little secret, but only if you'd put that chair down."

Realizing that all this time, she's been holding up the chair, Kanae quickly returns it in its former place before following Fujino to her seat. She was never really interested with random people's stories, but this one she felt compelled to listen to.

Once they were settled, the reporter began in a low voice. "Only my co-workers and a few friends in the industry know about this, but I'm actually getting married to my _kohai_ this June. He's just twenty eight, but I'm turning forty next month. Scandalous, isn't it? Especially for someone who writes scandals about others for a living."

"I don't think it's that scandalous, but..." Kanae looked cynically at the reporter. "Are you sure he's not hooking up with you because he's after your money or your position in the magazine?"

"Of course," Fujino replied candidly, taking no offense. "We've been in a relationship for two years now, but we've been working together for five. He had a steady girlfriend the first three, but they split up eventually. That's where I came in, as a big sister-type who lent him a shoulder to lean on. You could say our relationship slowly worked its way from there. Besides, there's not much money going around in our line of work, that's why some of us resort to blackmail. I've saved up quite a bit after all these years, sure, but it won't get him anywhere if ever he decided to trick me out of it."

"Weren't you bothered by your age difference at all?"

"No, never. I not really sure why... But I've always seen him as a man, not someone who was at least ten years my junior. Probably because of his impeccable work ethic. I may sound like a doting fiancée by saying this, but he's as enthusiastic with his work now as he was five years ago when he was still starting out. Totally unlike some singer we know." The reporter and the actress share a laugh as they recall the idiot singer-actor's flustered face when he was told to get lost. "But yes, he's the 'often the first one to arrive at the office, often the last one to leave' type. I guess it's one of those qualities that make age seem just like any number out there."

"Right," Kanae reluctantly agreed, not because she really has an issue with this sort of relationship - they can do whatever they please for all she cared, but its how the reporter perceived her fiancé during their first meeting that baffled her. _"I never really saw him as any other boy either. I regarded him like I did all my other co-stars back when we first worked together, believing its how professionals should act..."_

"Are you alright, Kotonami-san?" Fujino asked, waving her hand across Kanae's eyes.

"Y-yes... I'm just a little worn from the trip," she excused with a meek smile evoked by her reflexes and mock expressions. Before Fujino could read through it though, the make-up artist finally calls Kanae over for her turn at the booth. "Now if you'll excuse me, Fujino-san," the actress said as she hurriedly got up, bowing gratefully at the reporter for both the favor and the confidence. As she was about to mark her first step towards the booth, Kanae wheeled back and added, "Oh... About what he said-"

"Let me guess. You want to ask me not to write or ask about whatever relationship you have with Hiou-kun later, right?"

She said nothing, but the veteran journalist accepted her silence as an answer in itself.

"Don't worry. I try not to write anything conclusive without solid proof because I know its gonna bite me somewhere down the line. I must say though... I was pretty impressed with the way you kept yourself in check when that guy was insulting you."

Kanae grunted. "When it comes to that idiot, I'd rather save my breath! No matter what I or anybody else tells him, nothing gets through his thick head!"

"I guess you're right about that... Still, you should also consider yourself lucky I'm the one doing this article. If another reporter saw you trying to swing for the fences with a chair because someone insulted Uesugi-kun, they won't let you off the hook so easily even if you're the one being harassed."

The advice agitated a sensitive spot inside the actress's head, forcing her to stop for a moment to ask herself. She was no stranger to this form of self-doubt, having heard Erika Kouenji point it out when she defended Kyoko against her self-professed rival's disparaging comments. But the circumstances were different then. That time, there were no reporters or cameramen around to make a record of the incident. She wasn't a legitimate professional who needed to be mindful of her actions at all times especially in the public eye, and neither was the person she defended. Even if word got out about her argument with the heiress, people would think of it as just another catfight between former classmates and forget about it sooner or later.

Just now, she rolled the dice yet again, much like she did last month but this time under the presence of other celebrities, a reporter and a cameraman, staking her reputation as an actress to protect Hiou-kun's name from that musician-wannabe actor, and yet she hasn't a single clue why she was so willing to go this far. Moreover, she didn't have the slightest bit of confidence to look for those clues.

All she was certain of was that the old her wouldn't bother with any of this nonsense and keep to her shell like she used to. But then, she wouldn't be here if that person remained. She probably wouldn't have met Hiou at all...

"You better hurry if you want them to do a good job hiding those dark circles under your eyes, Kotonami-san," Fujino reminded her in jest.

"Y-yes of course. Anyway, thanks again." A bit flustered by the remark, Kanae bowed curtly before heading off to the make-up booth.

Fujino's right. With a photoshoot and interview at hand, she couldn't let herself get distracted by... meaningless musings like such. Above all else, she was still a professional who aspires to be the best, and no matter how many changes she underwent as a person, that goal is and will always be the constant. Once she has fulfilled her duties for in this particular commitment, she can ask her heart out. Or better, ask someone who might have more experience in this kind of situation than she does. Not that there's anybody else she could confide to about this matter anyway. _"I'll just ask her later when I see her..."_But she thought better of it after a couple of seconds, imagining her accursed friend Kyoko's potential reaction. _"...No. I don't think that's gonna be a good idea either. Knowing her, she'd definitely make a big deal out of it like always... Saying that I shouldn't be thinking of things like this..."_

Both the photoshoot and the interview went off without a hitch. The shoot was easy enough that none of them made any trying mistakes, and they were able to move to the higher observation deck ahead of time. For the interview, everyone other than Kanae seemed in a good mood and more than willing to answer anything, but Fujino kept her line of questioning strictly about the show as it should be for a feature article, barring a few candid ice breakers to liven things up. Being a minor character, Kanae only needed to answer three simple questions: what she thought about the project thus far, how a newcomer like her felt working with the leads and the veterans in the show, and her opinion about the character she portrayed. The tuna tartare she had for breakfast tasted great but was barely filling.

At around ten-thirty, while taking the elevator down to the ground floor, Kanae found a mail from Kyoko, sent over an hour ago while she was in the middle of the shoot, saying "help me, Moko-san. The president is going to execute me today". By now, she had gotten used to receiving messages like this from the typically-overreacting girl, but after her dream, she felt that this might actually be as serious as it sounded. _"Guess I'll have to hear her out later."_She didn't bother changing out of her earlier getup since they were her own clothes anyway and went straight for the LME offices.

LoveMe member #2 got to LME's lobby a quarter past eleven, around the time employees start to dump their workload to them LoveMe members while they have lunch. And as if to prove that, someone was already waiting to give her a task as soon as she stepped in. "Oh, perfect timing, Kotonami-kun!" Supervisor Sawara, who was standing by the reception counter and apparently on the phone, beckons her to approach.

"Can you at least wait until I get changed?" Kanae retorted, holding up her bag for emphasis. Almost a year since it was established, a lot of employees and talents at LME still thought of the LoveMe section as a section for chambermaids, handymen and the like. Sawara wasn't one of them, being one of LoveMe's conspirators and all, but that assurance didn't lessen her annoyance one bit.

"That's no good, Kotonami-kun. I don't know if she told you this, but Mogami-kun got her first job as member of the LoveMe section as soon as she reported for duty. She didn't even know LoveMe was created for talents like you two at the time." The Talent Section head glanced over his watch to stress the task's urgency. "Look, all you have to do is wait for this call to connect and give the details on my behalf since I really have to get back to my desk soon to get some contracts ready for signing. I'm even willing to overlook your attitude just now and give you full marks for it."

"Fine, fine. What's the call for anyway?" she inquired, left with no choice but to accept. She has to outscore Chiori today, and there's no better way to start than with a hundred easy points.

"It's for a vet." But before Sawara could disclose the emergency's specifics...

"Wait. Can't you just make the call from your office?" Kanae interrupted, her expression skeptical like she's about to change her mind.

"I could, but I can't leave Sayo-chan alone while I go all the way up to my office to make the call, that's why I'm using the reception's phone, and I have to wait for them to pick Sayo-chan up too. President's orders," Sawara explained sheepishly.

"Sayo-chan?"

Sawara directed Kanae over to a box-like object parked by the elevator, covered by gray cloth.

_"__It's too small to be a camel's cage, and judging from the hollow portions, I bet it's not the anaconda either,"__Kanae tried to guess what loomed inside. __"__Hmph... Whatever it__is, it won't__gonna be as bad as the anaconda. What else could be scarier than that?"_

Without hesitation, the ever-confident actress walked over to the cage and pulled the cloth away...

"KYAAAAAAAHHH!" she shrieked, losing her footing and recoiling at least three meters back. "W-WHAT'S A LEOPARD DOING IN AN URBAN BUILDING LIKE THIS?!"

"Uhh... It's not a leopard, Kotonami-san. It's a cougar," Sawara corrected. About a second later, he found himself being grabbed by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell did you just call me?" the cynical actress asked gravely, emitting a dark, murderous aura.

"I-I-I-I meant, Sayo-chan," he said fearfully, a feeling he's gotten somewhat accustomed to after several run-ins with Kyoko. "D-don't worry, she won't bite."

"Oh... Is that so..." Kanae released Sawara from her grasp and turned back to Sayo to assess the sick feline. She didn't apologize for the misunderstanding.

"Believe it or not, that's actually the problem," Sawara says while fixing his tie. "According to the president's secretary, she hasn't been eating properly the past couple of days. The president's worried that she might've eaten something bad while noone was looking. It would've been easier if it were a normal Husky or Siamese cat, but since that's not the case, we need the special vet that regularly tends to the president's pets... Thing is, the line wouldn't connect at all."

"Alright... I'll figure the rest out." Kanae handed over her booklet for her one hundred-point stamp then put the cloth back on before the cougar's presence makes an unnecessary ruckus. It looked ill alright, but it was still an animal that should be in the zoo if not the wilderness.

Soon after, she took both the booklet and the phone from Sawara, redialing the number he gave. He was right; the line was indeed busy, the answering machine repeatedly asking her to call back when the doctor's free. Did not even offer to take messages. She tried to imagine what kind of pet would take so much of this vet's time, but gave up as soon as dolphins, bears, elephants and others flooded her mind like a picture book. After a couple more redial attempts the vet still wouldn't pick up, and Kanae began to lose it. "C'mon... Pick up," she muttered, her index finger impatiently drumming the counter's surface.

She wouldn't be so bored for long though, as two familiar voices emerged from the entrance, effectively drawing her attention.

Awfully familiar voices.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine by yourself? This building looks too big for-Owww!"

"Would you please stop nagging me? You're my manager, not my nanny or something."

"B-but-"

"With this many people here, it's impossible for me to get lost. Besides, they requested for me to go in alone. I'll text you when we're done."

"Okay, but promise me that you'll text if something happens."

"Fine. Whatever makes you leave sooner, Matsuda..."

Kanae peered over her shoulder to make sure if her ears were hearing right, but the rest of her body resisted, telling her there was no point in rechecking something she could never be wrong with. _"What is **he** doing here of all places?! He's supposed to be resting at home, dammit!"_

The receptionists just had to rub it in...

"Hey, isn't that Hiou Uesugi-kun? He looks even cuter in person," the one on the right said, squealing like a fangirl.

"Isn't he on the show you're currently on?" the one on the left asked Kanae, but got no answer from the actress.

She wasn't prepared for this. There was no way she could have seen this coming. She might have handled things better if he just came to the shoot, since he wasn't really sick after all. _"And here I was, worrying over nothing..." _Part of her itched to scold Hiou for lying to everyone and being unprofessional, but it was easily dominated by the part that couldn't even bear to face him, scared of the possibility that he'd find out what she actually does at LME...

"_If he finds out that I'm no better than a slave while in this stupid overalls... And worse, that I'm somehow making a big deal__over what happened last month... He'll probably lose all the respect he has left for me..." _

"Oh, look! He's coming this way!" one of the receptionists gleefully said, but Kanae was gone before he could turn towards the counter.

"Excuse me, I have an appointment with Lory Takarada-san," Hiou said to the receptionists, giving his name in whisper shortly after. Good thing he was still shorter than the counter; he couldn't see Kanae hiding behind it and between the receptionists' chairs, still holding the phone. Things happened so fast that the receptionists didn't have time to react to the actress's unexpected and uncharacteristic move before they had to answer the younger actor's inquiry.

_"Please don't connect yet... Please don't connect yet...,"_Kanae wished over and over. _"...Don't connect until he leaves."_

"The president?" The receptionist on the right quickly checks the appointment list and if the president's available. "Yes he's here, but he's still in the middle of an important meeting as we speak."

"Oh! I almost forgot. His secretary left this for you earlier," the one on the left added, giving Hiou a scribbled note. "He said you could wait there or ask one of the LoveMe girls to tour you around the building."

Hiou glanced through the note for a moment. "Seriously... What the heck's with this dumb "LoveMe" thing anyway?"

"Err... I think you should ask the president that. Or maybe one of the girls. They'll give you a better explanation."

Without another word, Hiou walked off and onto the elevator, looking suspiciously at the cougar's cage while waiting for the lift but refraining from touching it. When it arrived, Kanae heard him mention the floor where the LoveMe section's locker is to the operator as soon as he boarded. _"The note probably has directions in it,"_she guessed.

Luckily, the vet finally picked up as the elevator closed. At least Hiou wouldn't chance upon her there. Kanae repeated everything Sawara mentioned earlier, and after conferring for a couple of minutes, the vet told her that an ambulance will pick Sayo-chan up immediately.

After the phonecall, Kanae's mind went on a fritz. It was no shocking news that President Takarada's influence could affect even talents that aren't under LME, but for him to specifically ask Hiou to come over... _"It couldn't possibly be about... About today... Could it?"_

And then her answer when the eccentric president asked her and Kyoko about those cursed Vain Day chocolates sprang to mind like a bad case of _deja vu_...

_"Oh crap... If I'd known he'd piece it together easily, I should've just said 'guy' instead of 'boy'..."_

After that, a resigning sigh and a slap in her own forehead.

_"I really hate this day... No... This day really hates me..."_

* * *

Chapter End.


	3. An Ultimatum Laid Down

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any copyrights mentioned in this story.

Author's notes: A shorter update for now since ideas are jumbled in my head at the moment, which is probably going to take some time to sort out, enough to delay the next update a little. Anyway, thanks a lot for reading and reviewing the previous chapter and I hope I don't disappoint so much with this.

* * *

"Good morning!" a cheerful Chiori Amamiya greeted Kanae the moment she burst into the room that is basically all of the LoveMe section. That time, she was engrossed in watching another film for another pile of reviews. Beside her were stacks of notebooks, DVD cases, a glass bottle and a three-layer bento she was enjoying at the moment.

As always, Kanae gave no response and went straight for the lockers. Sheets of torn, crumpled paper rustled on the edge of her feet with the sudden shift of air. She didn't need to pick one up to know what they were. _"Between these and that airhead's dolls, they sure know how to relieve stress..."_The sudden thought of her friend reevoked the foreboding feeling she felt when she read her earlier text. "Has she arrived yet?" Kanae asked while changing into her uniform.

"Kyoko-san? Yep, but she said she's just stopping by to talk to the president about something important before heading to today's Box-R shoot. I doubt she's gonna come back here afterwards," Chiori answered. They won't be shooting any scenes for Yumika until tomorrow, hence her presence.

_"There's nothing new about President Takarada summoning her to his office, but why did she say he's going to kill her? Did she mess up during her last assignment from him?__" _Kanae thought, but said in reaction was, "I see." As much as she wanted to care about what's bugging her friend, she has her own problems to worry about. Scratch that. One big, big problem, in a packaging that's... a bit smaller than the standard, no innuendos intended. And it will only get worse from hereon now that the president has found out about it – Kanae could only speculate, but why else would he invite Hiou and give him specific directions to go to this very room while he's talking to Kyoko anyway? Other than to humiliate her, she didn't have any other ideas. _"Calm down... No reason to panic yet... LME's big enough for people to miss each other... And with the piece of paper he was given earlier, I bet he's been here already..."_ _It took fifteen minutes before the vet arrived for Sayo-chan_, then another five to inform him of the cougar's condition then observe as his crew load Sayo-chan inside the ambulance. Within those twenty minutes, Hiou would've come and gone already without bothering Chiori about the tour. But Kanae chose not to ask, wary of the possibility of her colleague coloring it the wrong way like everyone else has. That is, everyone who wasn't Kyoko, who has practically washed off that hue from her palette after her heartbreak.

_"That's right. All I have to do is run errands in places he wouldn't be interested in."_Finally finished changing, and on deciding what to do, LoveMe member #2 wa ready to report for duty, but before she could venture towards the door, Chiori stopped her.

"Umm... If you don't mind me asking," she began slowly, blinking innocently at Kanae. "What's with the bandanna and big glasses?"

"W-what's wrong with wearing them? I need to protect my eyes and my hair in case someone asks me to get something from those dusty storage rooms, or worse, organize it," she explained, followed by some dry laughter. She quickly drew Chiori's attention away from her disguise, the same disguise she had on the first time she donned the degrading pink outfit, by asking about her meal. "More importantly, why are you eating that much anyway? Aren't you worried about gaining weight?"

"I'm actually underweight by a few pounds," she answered readily. "My mom said it might be due to stress, but somehow, I'm not that convinced. Do I look awfully stressed to you?"

Kanae narrowed her eyes on the horribly-littered floor. "...I don't think I'm a good judge of that."

"Oh well. I don't mind gaining some extra fat in my body anyway so long as they fall on the right places."

"...Where did you get that big a _bento_ anyway? Did your mother prepare it for you?"

"Nope. Hiou-kun gave this to me," Chiori said, picking up her chopsticks to continue her meal. "You appear in a drama with him right? You just missed him by a few minutes."

Learning this, Kanae's mood dimmed into an even darker shade. "Why would that... That boy give you a _bento_?"

"Well, he said it was supposed to be for someone else in return for a gift given to him, but later said that that someone might not like it so he gave it to me instead. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like it though." She gobbled up a piece of chicken in _teriyak_i sauce and then giggled. "It's really good! And he said their cook prepared this! I bet that's no ordinary cook they have back home."

Chiori went on with her theories surrounding Hiou and his cook while eating, throwing a detailed compliment with each bite of a different dish, but Kanae was beside herself all the while, too distracted with her own theories and opinions to bother listening. _"What the hell is he thinking, trying to give me something like THAT?!"_She wasn't going to be like Kyoko who would stay in her land of faeries and blissful ignorance by refusing to consider this line of thinking. After all,_**she**_was the only person in this building who gave something to Hiou that supposedly demands a return present._"I knew it. This stupid tradition's really meant to spite all the women who foolishly made low-quality chocolates last month by making them fat. And I allowed my arm to get twisted by the president's ultimatum... Hah! Good thing this one's here to spare me from eating all of it."_Kanae smirked, gloating over her unexpected fortune. However, her celebration was but a fleeting one.

_"I must admit though, everything on the bento looks good,"_she thought, feeling a tad envious. She couldn't help it since her breakfast left a lot to be desired. All her life, she had a perfectly-controlled appetite, honed by both ambition and poverty, but the moment she accepted Kyoko's friendship, her subconscious seemed to have developed this... this voracious side that had no resistance to the sumptuous dishes served in front of her. Hiou has already seen this side of her, particularly when they went to an upper-class Japanese buffet for lunch sometime after Vain Day (only because his manager treated them. Kanae wouldn't even consider coming if it wasn't free). She wasn't sure what compelled her, whether it was the exceptional food or the stress of having to listen to the girls in the dressing room gossip about her relationship with the younger actor, but without realizing it she already had a monster helping. "Nothing. Just wondering where you're gonna put all those," the two-faced kid said when a flustered Kanae pointed out the sly smirk he had on as he watched her. Worse thing was, she couldn't stop after that remark since there was still food on her plate and, like in other eat-all-you-can joints, leftovers were charged double and sharing wasn't allowed. That was the last time she ate real meals in front of Hiou, and she had to amp up her exercise and diet regimen the next three days after that.

_"Maybe he thought I stopped eating properly since that day... Mou! Whatever his reasons are, this is still a complete insult!"_Kanae's brows furrowed, hating herself for getting caught up with this Vain Day hysteria for the first time in her life. Having no intention to torment herself with all these thoughts, or with the sight of Chiori engorging on the _bento_ (because she didn't want to work up a monster appetite, why else?), she stormed out of the door, but at the last second...

"Oh, before I forget," Chiori halted her again. "The president left a memo for us."

"Memo?"

"Well, its more of a video, actually. Here." With the use of a single remote, Chiori paused the DVD she was supposed to write a review for and switched to the video message sent to their section earlier this morning. Hooray for cutting-edge LED TVs and to LME for providing them with it.

When video loaded, the LoveMe girls were confronted by the veiled countenance of President Takarada's secretary, one bracing herself from the hassle the upcoming announcement forebodes while the other, having seen the message once before, averting her attention to her colleague to gauge her reaction.

Robotically imitating the president's exact words, the secretary began, "Due to Mogami-kun's upcoming exams, she has to take a leave from some of her ongoing projects so she can concentrate on preparing for them. However, since Bo has become one of Kimagure Rock's biggest draws and is a major part of their program, they can't run the show without him. So I ask the girl who gets the lowest points for today to fill in for Mogami-kun until she's finished with her exams. Best of luck earning them, Kotonami-kun, Amamiya-kun." The screen reverted back to the DVD before the video could officially close out.

"...That's about the size of it," said Chiori, surprisingly nonchalant as she took a sip of iced tea from a glass bottle she had with her. This one, she brought herself.

On the other hand, Kanae was petrified with terror as her dream relapsed inside her head. Now she knew where the fat rooster fits into all this madness. Oh how she wanted to chop Bo up into bits as small as the stuff between Chiori's chopsticks... Or put him on a pitchfork and roast him whole...

But no. She can't show any signs of weakness or hesitation, especially in front of her opponent. Her days of hiding in the dungeons are long gone. And since she had defeated her long-time adversary Erika, she swore never to get overwhelmed again even if the deck is stacked against her. "So? How many points do you have now?" Kanae asked, bolstering her confidence.

"Well, since I got here first, I already have lots. Look," Chiori pulls up her white pad and happily shows Kanae her tally, all of them one hundred-point markers. "This is from Matsushima-san," she pointed at the corresponding stamp, "this one from President Takarada's secretary courtesy of him, and this from Hiou-kun."

At the mention of the taboo name, Kanae slams her palm violently in front of Chiori, almost causing the latter to tumble off her seat. "How the hell could an outsider give you points?!"

"About that..." Chiori gestured her hand to appease her LoveMe senior. "Secretary-san gave me a box of stamps when he delivered the memo, said it was for our special guest. When Hiou-kun arrived and confirmed he was the guest, I gave them to him and explained the mechanics. At first, he was very confused, but when he noticed I was doing reviews, he looked at the DVDs I have here and asked if he could try giving me points."

"And? Who or what did he ask you to review?" interrogated the irate actress like an inspector in a detective drama.

"It's this one here." Chiori fetched said DVD case. "He asked if I can make any reviews for XX, the singer who plays a small part in it. I don't really remember how it goes, but he put out a number one song a few years ago. Seriously though, these singers..." She took a deep breath, and suddenly... **"Just because they do a little acting for their MVs, they think acting for dramas is gonna be a walk in the park! Especially one-hit wonders like him who cross over because they can't put out anything good anymore! They all remind me of Michika Kawagoe!"**

Stunned by the poisonous aura perfusing the room, Kanae reluctantly asked, "What did you write then?"

"Umm... I don't really remember, but," Returning to an agreeable mood, Chiori pointed at the mess around their feet. "It should be somewhere in there. Honestly, I still don't understand what I really did, but I was so happy when he gave me a hundred points for it, and on top of that, he gave me the _bento_ too. I swear, he's a really sweet kid!"

_"Yeah, right... You should see him on set..."_ Kanae was now officially livid. Livid, because she could've written "better reviews" about the stupid ham actor who put this hex on her. Livid, because her day kept getting better and better by the hour. Livid, because she was two hundred points behind Chiori as of now. Livid, because Chiori was getting... things she's not supposed to have... "Ah well... Time to rack up more points..." She needed to get the hell out of this room before she started swinging around with a chair again...

But Chiori just had to stop her and rub it in her face. "How about you? How much do you have so far?"

"Just a hundred. Got it from Sawara-san as soon as I arrived," Kanae said as she started for the exit again, putting bitter emphasis on the phrase "as soon as I arrived".

"Hmm..." Chiori grinned evilly. "I guess you have your work cut out for you." While she has a bit of issue with the idea of acting all goofy in front of the camera again, she can imagine that Kyoko must have hated the role before and yet she still thrived in it, enough to make her the regular mascot. And unlike before, she no longer had any issues following her footsteps if it will help her regain her long-lost love for acting as well as enough experience to be a versatile actress, and she definitely owed Kyoko a lot after she pushed her down the steps and injured her. What she was trying to avoid, however, was having to pull her hair up so she could put Bo's head on, or worse, give someone a chance to do it.

Not another word out of her lips since she had stapled them together to prevent things from being said, Kanae slammed the door behind her back as if wanting to tear it off its hinges.

"Gee... What's eating her lunch?" LoveMe member #3 asked herself, but soon forgot all about it after a bite of glazed pumpkin.

Stomping along the hallway, Kanae desperately wished for every employee to pass all their paperwork on her so she'd be stuck in the offices all day, and give her a hundred points each for volunteering. Now even her self-respect was at stake, if Hiou's respect towards her wasn't enough. She had reached a point where she actually wondered what wrong had she done to deserve a day like this, whether it was her insulting remarks about Vai... Valentine's Day, her rude way of giving the chocolates to Hiou, her refusal to expect something in return or all of the above.

She hasn't gone that far from LoveMe section's room when somebody called her a couple of meters behind.

"Hey..."

Kanae kept walking straight ahead. She knew exactly whose cheeky boyish voice it was, that's why she ignored it. Hearing it usually makes her feel relieved... Even glad... But not today. His were the points she can't possibly take, lest her plans will be for naught.

"Hey, LoveMe girl..."

She stopped as soon as she heard his footsteps creeping behind her. At this point, she's doomed far beyond any form of salvation.

"Can you give me a tour of the building? I really don't know where else to start after visiting your room."

Showing no hesitation, Kanae turned to face Hiou and, in her best and most sarcastic impression of Kyoko Mogami's voice, she said, "Oh, sure! I'd be happy to!"

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Chapter End.


	4. A Little Corner in Heaven

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any copyrights used in this story.

Author's notes: This is a revised version of chapter 4. For those who have read the previous one, this is a complete revision.

Also, credits to the ones who have reviewed this so far. I wouldn't have been able to continue this if not for your guidance.

* * *

"So... It's a janitor's uniform after all... Should've known," Hiou said, letting a LoveMe stamp bounce up and down his palm while staring at the logo on the back of Kanae's uniform. He would've stared elsewhere if he had a choice, but it was the least glaring and emetic view his eyes can reach at the moment.

"Go ahead. Laugh all you want. I've dealt with that kind of reaction for a year now anyway," Kanae responded, seemingly exerting all the annoyance she had built up to this point on the window she's cleaning. While it is certainly disgraceful for any professional actress to clean windows that have were... defiled by birds as well as the weather, it's the least of her problems right now.

When she started her day, Kanae decided it was best not to see Hiou today, knowing that it would be awkward after what had happened on Vain Day, and he needed a break on the backlash as much as she does. And when she learned he's actually in the building, she planned to take requests in places that wouldn't interest him at all, keep herself scarce until he's gone.

But now she's stuck with the very person she had hoped to avoid (who wasn't a failed musician) in a cramped space just outside the LME building.

On a scaffolding lowered down to the fourteenth floor specifically. So much for best laid plans.

Everyone working at LME knew that President Lory's the most cunning evil mastermind in existence when it comes to that stupid four-letter word that begins with the letter "L" and other professional concerns. It was no surprise either that he knows Hiou's grandfather and parents personally, being in the industry for as long as he has, and to be able to keep track of what she was doing at work. But to think he'd actually work out that Hiou's the one who received her chocolate from a clue as simple as "I gave it to a boy I'm filming with", and to get his manager to cancel everything on his schedule for today and invite him to the building as a VIP guest, supposedly on behalf of his parents even though it's obviously not the case... It certainly toppled Kanae's expectations like a wall made of cardboard boxes. She clearly underestimated him, thinking he's much too focused with Kyoko's problems to actually bother with hers. Or maybe she just isn't crazy enough to scratch the surface of what he's really capable of...

"I didn't say it's funny, especially now that I get what it's for," the third-generation actor replied, somewhat annoyed that he was misunderstood but was already expecting it from her. "Others have weirder uniforms they have to wear everyday for their jobs after all. Like those french maids or-," he was about to say "a bunny girl" but stops midway and looks away, erasing the images in his mind before they become completely vivid. "...You get the point."

"Yeah. Laundering those kinds of uniforms are a pain especially when they're made of cheap fabric."

"I still don't get it though. Why do pros like you and that Amamiya have to keep wearing that even on set?"

"...You can ask the president yourself when you see him after his meeting."

"Was wondering about that too. How long is his meeting gonna take anyway?"

A nonchalant shrug from Kanae served as his answer.

To make matters worse, the president just had to make a specific request about this arrangement in the form of a letter Hiou showed her soon after she got out of the LoveMe Section's locker room, which he apparently received from Chiori along with a box of stamps. Basically,. Kanae's supposed to keep the VIP guest Hiou company while the president's still in a meeting with several people including Kyoko. Even if she gets other requests like the one she's doing now - she was asked to clean the windows since the machine's up for maintenance and the handymen are out buying Spite Day chocolate or having lunch, she has to "let him observe" as written in the request. However, if Kanae refused the president's request in any way, leave behind or piss off the guest until he left on his own, she will be given a one thousand-point deduction for today's score, enough to ensure that she'd finally get the role she had once vehemently turned down.

The idea of wearing that ridiculous fat suit was already threatening enough for Kanae, but Hiou had to point another gun at her by showing off the special "-1,000" stamp that came with his set, toying with it while he "observed" her. At least he wasn't being too cocky about it unlike the time he got her fired (which was her own fault to begin with). Moreover, he hadn't said a word to her since they met today until that remark about the LoveMe uniform, and when the topic simmered down, he became indifferent again. Not knowing what to say that wouldn't allude to the "respect chocolate", Kanae busied herself with the chore. She probably would've been more eager to talk if the idea that he brought her a bento in exchange for the homemade treat hadn't cross her mind though. _"I knew it would come to this eventually, and yet I still did what I did,"_ she thought, sighing again as she wipes the soap off the glass.

She didn't know Hiou was thinking the same thing, but between the two of them, his fuse was about a few millimeters shorter. "Hey... What's with the silent treatment?" he asked after a couple more awkward minutes. But the lack of immediate answer left him with no choice but to take a guess. "It's about the food, isn't it..."

Kanae put down the rag and carefully turned to face Hiou. She was almost done cleaning anyway. "Fine. Let's pretend this is about the lunchbox. What the hell were you thinking anyway?!" she finally snapped. "Haven't I told you already that I have a strict diet to maintain?! Mou! I'll never understand why you guys think food's the best gift to give."

Hiou scowled back at first, but his expression digressed into a haughty one seconds later. "Just for the record, I wasn't planning on giving it to you."

And just the same, Kanae's oft-irritated expression digressed into a baffled one. "Huh? Then who's it for? It can't possibly for the president, now can it..."

"Nah. Truth is," he began after a deep, deep breath, "well... It was for the person whose chocolate I accepted last month, which is technically you, but it's not like I wanted to do it on purpose." He gauges her reaction and found her all the more confused as expected. "When she found out about the chocolate, my mom had it prepared and told me to give it in return. Said it was the polite thing to do..." Hiou lounged on the metallic surface, one arm supporting his head. With his height, it was easy for him to stretch his body in such a tight space. Not that he thought of it as a legitimate advantage.

"..Anyway, I knew you'd think of that sort of gift as an insult, so I planned to give it to someone else while noone was watching my back, and it happened to be that Amamiya girl. When I saw how pleased she was and after hearing your reaction," he languidly rolled his eyes towards Kanae for a moment, and then shifted to his side, his back facing her. "I guess I did the right thing."

"Good. At least we're on the same page with that," Kanae agreed, though her empty stomach clearly said otherwise.

Watching Hiou gradually fall into utter indifference however, she began to wonder how compelled he must feel with all this, from when she literally shoved her homemade chocolate to him to the president's invitation and that lunch box. And for a boy who was usually energetic enough to snarl at nearly everyone who would dare treat him like a child, he did look and sound pretty tired. He probably should be resting at home right now like his manager told the magazine, but he's here putting up with this stupid tradition. He wouldn't have had to, if she only thought better of how her actions would affect him in the long run.

"...I... I'm sorry, Hiou-kun... I'm sorry that I dragged into our president's... Our president's antics," Kanae said about a minute later, her eyes downcast, swallowing all the pride she had with her decision to give him a Vain Day chocolate and admitting that it wasn't exactly a well-thought of decision. "I-if I had known it would come to this, I..." She stops abruptly, failing to sense a hint of response from Hiou. "...Hiou-kun?"

When she looked up at him, Kanae was quite surprised to find that the prodigy had fallen fast asleep, even sounding off a muffled snore. Trying her best not to rock the hanging platform too much, she creeps closer to his still form, swiping his fringe gently to the side. "_I'll never understand how even the peskiest of people could look so harmless when they're asleep." _Kanae smiles wryly as she studies Hiou's docile face. Like this, he doesn't seem all that different from the kids back home once they get tired of her tossing them from pillar to post (though she's usually the one who gets tired first).

Rather, Hiou's like his so-called "black demon" in a way... Already working at such a tender age, earning paychecks even though he hardly gets to touch it. As far as she was told by Matsuda-san who also takes care of it, more than half of his earnings go straight into a savings account while the rest serve as his allowance. Contracts for child stars may not be as hefty as the adults who play as their parents or siblings or future selves, but considering how little his competition was for roles as well as the added value of family name, he must have saved up a considerable amount over the last nine years.

However, being a young actor especially from a family of renowned actors also had its drawbacks that money couldn't compensate fully. There's the pressure of living up to the pedigree, the rotating schedules, the inability to attend regular classes, and the limited freedom and privacy among others. Even if he wouldn't tell her outright, Kanae was certain that it rested at the back of his mind and that there were nights when he lamented on those until he fell asleep, which would in turn worsen his mood the following day. Not everyone could easily cope with this kind of lifestyle even if they were born in it. In Hollywood alone, there's a long list of child or teen sensations who ended up falling to either the pit of obscurity or of trying times, a bunch of them unable to find their way back up. But Hiou thrived in it anyway, giving his best with each take as he tried to make a name for himself that people won't necessarily associate with the generations he succeeded. He may still be bossy on set up to now, but who was she to criticize him about it?

_"Hmmm... Maybe I should carry him to a couch somewhere so he can relax better,"_Kanae pondered while unconsciously stroking his hair. _"But he might wake up if I try to move him. On the other hand, I don't know how many points I'm gonna miss out on while I wait for him, and I can't possibly sneak out and leave him here... Mou! If you're just going to sleep, you should've just waited for me to finish this task!"_This was exactly what she hated about being in relationships with people.

Too busy getting frustrated over what to do and what matters to her more, she did not sense a pair of hands sneaking up on her from below, taking off the bandanna and glasses she elected to wear in one fluid motion.

"You really shouldn't be wearing cheap stuff like these," Hiou said, his lips curled up in a cheeky smirk. "Makes you look as stupid as that annoying friend of yours." Of course he wouldn't say something so cliché like "you shouldn't be hiding your beautiful face", even if he actually thought of it.

It took Kanae some five seconds to catch on with what just happened. After that, Hiou once again received a taste of how she'd usually play with her siblings and niblings. Particularly the kind of treatment she'd give them when she needed to vent out.

"H-hey- Let go-! I can't breat-" Hiou tried to tug away from Kanae's headlock. It was a wasted effort.

"What?! You're the one who wants to play, right?!" she answered back with a wide, sarcastic grin. But the ominous sound of the scaffolding creaking left her with no choice but to let him squirm free.

"Fine, that was on me," he said, averting from her while fixing his jacket. "But you're at fault too."

"Huh?! How di-"

"You're the one who's trying to tell me that you actually regret giving me that chocolate."

Flustered, Kanae looked away. She didn't want to say it openly, but he was right. If she were to lookat it from his perspective, she was practically eating every word she said about not having any regrets over what happened on Vain Day by apologizing. "...I didn't mean it like that, you know..."

The spring wind rustled calmly around them, carting along the faint noise of the traffic beneath that seemed louder in the absence of an ongoing conversation. But the indifference wouldn't last long, snapped by a sigh from the younger boy. Even if he had his side voice out, Hiou still regretted making Kanae feel even worse. If this was him from when he got her fired after she forcibly fed him meat and fish and eventually injuring him, he would've shrugged it off in a heartbeat under the impression that she's only trying to get on his good side so she could keep her role this time around. But after several months that boy has learned some of his life lessons, and just like how she felt compelled to apologize, he too felt compelled to cheer her up. "Honestly, if I didn't wanna be here one bit, I would've bailed the second Matsuda-san left," he finally said. Of course, it wasn't the exact version of what he wanted to express, but he'd die of embarrassment if he told her otherwise.

"...Really?" Unconsciously, Kanae's face lit up in expectation.

"...Well, I kinda feel bad not showing up at the magazine feature because of it," he grumbled. "Would've loved to bash that moron with the chair myself, see if he'd grow any smarter."

"Hmph! That guy getting any smarter? Not a chance even in a million lifetimes!" she cried, crossing her arms in dismay as the musician's annoying face and gestures returned to mind. "If you were there, I would've told you not to sweat it... Wait a minute, how did know about that?"

"Matsuda-san told me. She and that reporter doing the interview are drinking buddies as far as I know." Hiou moved to face Kanae, grinning mischievously. "But you're right. I should leave it to the aspiring pro-wrestler who trains with," he tries to count with his fingers, "eleven opponents at least thrice a week?"

'What? You want to be the twelfth?" she countered, wheeling around as well.

And as their eyes meet, both fell silent yet again. But instead of feeling awkward like the previous times, they burst into laughter seconds later, boding their return to a more cordial mood. Neither of them held back, confident that they could shed away their pretenses in this little hanging space without having to worry about people making fun of their... their relationship, or President Lory reading further into it (or so Kanae would like to believe. The president has eyes everywhere apparently, otherwise Hiou wouldn't even be here).

"Seriously though," Kanae spoke again, panting. She had never felt so tired from laughing since the Kyurara bottle incident that ultimately led to meeting this boy. "How did you learn to feign sleep like that? You really had me fooled, you know."

The boy shrugged. "It comes naturally, I guess... If you live in a house where maids and managers force you to sleep even if you don't want to, that is."

_"Tch... No wonder you haven't grown much taller since we first met...,"_ she thought disapprovingly. But before she could push through with verbal reproach, her stomach inadvertently growled, no longer to repress its desire for a decent meal. Hearing it as it was too audible for comfort, Kanae just looks away and zips her mouth.

It wasn't the first time she had displayed this particular kind of weakness towards Hiou though so he already knew how to respond while keeping himself harm-free. "We should probably get some grub now if you're done cleaning that window. I'm kinda hungry too."

"...Fine," Kanae consented. Lunch time's almost over from what she could tell, and she couldn't resist her VIP guest anyway. Ah, the perks of caring for someone... "But I'm ordering, and you're eating meat."

"Okay, okay. But only if you're eating too," he dared in return.

"Whatever works. Anyway... Where do yo want to eat?"

"On the way here, I saw this restaurant that has this old school Japanese motif. I kinda wanna check it out."

"Oh, that. I pass by it often and have gotten their leaflets before, but I haven't been inside ever. Hmm... It should be just a couple of blocks from here. Let's see," Carefully, the pink-clad actress pulls herself up and looks across the horizon. "Over there." She points at the direction where said restaurant is.

"You really expect me to see from here?" the third-generation star complained. The scaffolding's rail's too high for him even if he stood up.

"Mou! That's why people keep telling you to eat properly." Left with no choice, she gives him a boost, holding him snugly while trying to keep her balance. "Now can you see it? It's past the intersection to your right."

"Uhhh... Wait...," Hiou stalled, but not because he was seizing the opportunity.

"Huh? What the heck are you-" Kanae was going to protest when all of a sudden, Hiou throws away the -1,000 stamp he had been toying with earlier, sending it flying to the ground until it becomes nothing but a trinket they'll never recover one way or another.

"I'm not going to need it, am I?" Hiou asked earnestly with his face bleeding with embarrassment.

Slowly realizing what his gesture signified, Kanae's began to curl subtly, feeling quite flattered by it. "No. You never needed that stupid stamp in the first place." Why would he need a thousand-point deduction anyway? If she didn't want to be with him, she would've resigned from the drama they're currently filming as soon as the rumor about them started spreading around the set courtesy of that idiot has-been singer. But she didn't. She chose to stay and continue to act with him, flourish their talents together as they try to fulfill the oath they made on February the fourteenth, enduring all the jeers people hurl at her for being friendly, or too friendly with him. _"And if Hiou-kun's willing to stick with me in spite of all that, who am I to push him away by apologizing?"_

...However, sappy moments like this one never last long enough. Sometimes, they end too abruptly that people couldn't savor the serenity all that much.

"Anyway, we should go to that restaurant now," Kanae suggested, putting Hiou down so she could finally haul them back to the roof. "I can't lose to that Amamiya, you know." Turning around to check the window out one last time, her eyes widened at the sight of what she thought at first was her own reflection, soon realized that it was way too vivid to be a reflection in a newly polished window.

Speak of the devil.

"How long have you been standing there?!" Kanae cried, though she wasn't sure if Chiori could actually hear her through the glass. The latest addition to the LoveMe Section would confirm it with a smile soon enough.

Really, just a smile. A picture perfect smile that meant no actual harm...

...Until it turned into the most spine-chilling, devilish grin Kanae had seen since she last saw Kyoko's "Mio-esque" smile before Chiori smugly retreated.

As cynical as she is, Kanae rarely brands the people she meet with a good first impression, but Chiori definitely fell on the list of exceptions when they met not too long ago. After all, Chiori's one of the few people who she could count on to agree with her dire sentiments over how the showbiz industry has fallen from grace over the years.

But none of that matters now that Chiori has mocked her after seeing her apparent "weakness", She didn't even need to see Chiori's booklet to know that she'd already scored more points while she cleaned the windows, which put her to just two hundred points, and she most certainly didn't have to sift through the pile of venomous notes Chiori had left in the room to know the things she had written there. Just the one on top was enough, and it said **"LOSE TO SOME PEDOPHILE? HAH! LIKE HELL I WILL!" **as if she had written it with the intention of ripping through the paper. Kanae didn't know if Chiori left it purposely so she'd be able to read it, but that is of no consequence either.

"K-Kanae?" Hiou fretfully asked, sensing a familiar and dreadful aura enveloping his co-star as he looked up at her, catching a reflection of her wicked smirk from the newly-cleaned window across.

_"I swear... This day won't end until I stuff you inside that fat suit. Consider it my Spite Day gift to you."_

"I guess lunch will have to wait," Hiou concluded with a sigh.

* * *

Chapter End.


	5. An Indirect Contact

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! nor any other copyrights mentioned in this story.

Author's notes: For those who have stuck around and waited for me to update this, thank you so much and I'm really, really sorry for taking so long. I admit, I've been mulling over ideas for other fandoms way too much that I've lost a lot of ground on this project. It took me a long while to get back to it, rereading the previous chapters and starting over from there instead of revising what I've already written before my drought. Originally, I was planning to have Kanae and Hiou go through each and every one of the tasks per chapter, but then I realized it was better that I just skipped to the points relevant to their interaction and development. I made changes on how I write them too, but how drastic or how subtle I wouldn't know for sure. Anyways, I hope what I've managed in spite of my rustiness is still acceptable enough.

Oh, and Happy Chocolate Day, everyone!

* * *

There's always a first for all sorts of things, and for the first time in what has been a roller coaster of a year as part of LME for her, Kanae found relief inside the LoveMe Section's lounge, slouching on one of the folding chairs and wishing the day would end sooner. She'd probably be lying down if they had a couch here. As much as she wanted to exercise a better posture, she no longer had the energy nor the will for it. Cleaning windows, mopping floor after floor, pushing the copier and the shredder from one office into another, taking and making phonecalls, replacing the posters in nearly every floor with new ones that featured stars who have recently signed with LME and their first projects with the company, and a lot of typing and sweeping and mopping here and there have already drained her as much as playing with the kids at home would. But the reality of the situation is, Kimagure Rock's call time is still a couple of hours away, and if she fails to outscore her newfound rival Chiori by then... _"No. Thinking about the worst-case scenario won't do me any better,"_ Kanae slapped herself to shape with the thought. _"I'll just have to do cram as much chores as I possibly can until then. For sure I'll be fine even if they only give me fifty for each... Yeah, all the trouble for fifty stupid points..."_

That had been today's trend. After the perfect scores she received for calling the vet this morning and for the windows, the rest of her seven-hundred and fifty points came from odd marks that never exceeded past fifty, leaving her with no choice but to double the workload. Even then she didn't feel safe enough. If hustling for points like that wasn't bad enough, the staff just had to put salt into it, saying that it was her own fault for neglecting her responsibilities as a member of this accursed club ever since she got the Miyako gig back, and that she should emulate her "senior" Mogami-kun's willingness to help out when she's free even though her schedule's a lot more hectic. Some wouldn't even give Kanae tasks unless she beamed like Kyoko would, while others flat-out refused because they didn't want any of the smugness that would usually come with her halfhearted efforts. _"Tch... The nerve of them... Telling me that girl's better because she's more gullible... If only they knew how being gullible ruined her life..."_

There's also the matter of Kyoko's text, why she sounded so desperate and helpless and how odd it was that she hasn't returned her response yet. Kyoko always treated her replies like "blessings from the heavens", or some other exaggeration she already forgot for there have been too many of them, in that they came so seldom - in her defense, Kyoko spams her inbox way too much – and has replied to them in a timely (for lack of a more fitting word) manner. So... What's so different this time? What exactly did she and the president talk about earlier? What's going on with her... friend lately that she's acting a lot weirder than usual? What's so serious that she didn't want to talk to the president about it? Shouldn't she be worrying more about her upcoming exams instead? What in the world is up with the president today that he's holding closed-door meetings anyway? Shouldn't he be going from office to office dressed up in a glittery and feathery garb or some other outlandish piece from his wardrobe, badgering every male employee in this building into returning those stupid Vain Day chocolates?

And speaking of which... Why hasn't he called Hiou to his office up to now? A lot of curious events worried her subsequently, but it was the last one that really irked her. It wasn't because she cared about Kyoko less; only that she was directly affected by the latter, having waited with Hiou all day._"What the hell's taking the president so long anyway?! If he's going to be this late, he should've at least been sensible enough to give us a heads up, or better, scheduled his meeting with Hiou-kun at an earlier time! Mou!"_ It wasn't the first time she griped over it too both mentally and verbally. The president could've at least picked a less hectic date than... Spite Day to meet Hiou. A full tour of the building wasn't even possible because of the dumb point-hunting she was forced to do, and they couldn't go out for lunch because they had no idea when he'll be summoned to the president's office. She could've told Hiou to wait by himself someplace cozier like this room and its enormous TV screen, but she had to admit, she would've felt more anxious with him floundering about by himself. Kanae did not regret that decision one bit; on top of staying out of her way while she accomplished tasked and saying nothing whenever she got criticized, he made for a really great company, talking to her about stuff they usually would over the phone their show, nourishing both their minds if not their bellies. She regretted letting him help her on a couple of instances though, but as willful as he was offering his aid, there wasn't much she could do.

But now that he's out of sight as well – apparently to get them some drinks, Kanae could not resist feeling worried. Surely she trusts Hiou's capability, and it wasn't like she didn't trust the staff and the other talents in this building either. So why is it that she's worrying too much? She asked herself just that, but the only explanation that sounded sensible enough was that perhaps it was one of those superfluous emotions that come with letting others into her life, and that hardly made sense either. It was quite unsettling, thinking of both Hiou and Kyoko's well being for no reason... _"...I have to admit though... I feel humbled when it's them worrying about me... So I guess it's just fair that I feel their struggles every now and then."_

As Kanae continued to reflect on what has been a very stressful, spiteful day so far, her reflexes suddenly sprang back to life, reanimated by a cool sensation that brushed the back of her flaccid hand. Immediately, she turned to see what it was exactly and found a Kyurara can being offered to her by a hand that, teensy as it is right now, has a deceptively firm grip.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted so I just went ahead and got two," explained Hiou, who was already consuming his drink.

"That's fine...," Kanae responded, accepting the drink and initiating a fairly warm toast thereafter. Soda still wasn't her sort of drink, the fact that she earned her break by endorsing one notwithstanding, but she had come to appreciate drinking some every once in a while. Tired and starved as she was right now, today definitely passed the criteria.

It did cross her mind too, that without this beverage she wouldn't be talking to Hiou right now, but she wasn't much for sentimentality unlike her rival-turned-friend Kyoko, so she decided not to make too big a deal out of it.

Little did she know it was exactly why Hiou bought it even though he knew she wasn't too fond of it. And he picked the lighter, supposedly zero-calorie variant too.

"Thinking of something?"

"Something, yeah." Taking a measured sip from the calorie monster, it occurred to her that the can Hiou was consuming wasn't his first.

Nor his second.

Nor his third...

"How many of these have you had since before we came up the scaffold anyway?" She looked sternly at her co-star. "You'd swell up real bad if you don't watch it, and I nor Matsuda-san will be around all the time to do it for you."

"Hey! It's not like I'm the only one who has to watch what they eat, especially at a buffet," was Hiou's retort.

Already anticipating his cheeky reaction, Kanae simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least I don't shy away from meat simply because it 'reeks of the smell of the dead' or some other five-hundred year-old myth kids spread around to talk their wealthier peers out of eating luxury food."

"Quit being such a nag will you, or I'll get you fired again!"

"You're more than welcome to try. Now that I'm part of the regular cast though, I'm sure the show's ratings will plummet to a record low if I got axed. You wouldn't want people to blame 'the spoiled little runt' for that, now would you?"

The two stared at each other's eyes as if sizing their opposite's confidence up. But just when it seemed like things were about to break into utter pandemonium between them...

…..

….it broke into an uncharacteristically exuberant chuckle instead, the incident of Kanae force-feeding Hiou leading to her pink-slip now but a memory they fondly go back to from time to time. It was even expunged from her professional record as per the Uesugi family's request.

"That was silly." Hiou was first to comment after over a minute of non-stop laughter, though trying to get hold of himself.

"I know. It's so unlike us to be like that more than once in a single day," Kanae seconded. First to recover from the overwhelming surge, she cleared her throat and went back to the matter at hand. "Seriously though, you've got to start eating meat more often even without me, especially if you want to do action movies in the future. Vegans have a harder time bulking up after all."

"Well, I'm not planning to be a Hollywood meathead or something, but I get your point," he said before a brief pause, foreshadowing a confession. "...To be honest... I don't think I've fully adjusted to it yet... Not just my diet, but with all these changes going on with me right now too... The amount of dialogue I have to memorize every episode, building chemistry with other actors and all that." He looked away and sighed, seemingly stolen away by his own previous experiences and feelings that had since lingered. "It was a lot easier back then... Just completing the family portrait, being nothing more an older character's accessory... But now..."

Hiou stalled yet again, and this time it didn't seem like he'd be able to continue pouring his heart out. So Kanae too it upon herself to fill the rest, at least with her supposition although it may be accurate enough considering how well she knew him. "Now you have to carry your own character, make it stand out as an individual and be judged for it. I suppose that's part of the maturation process in our line of work." Hiou's silence thereafter informed her that she was correct, so she carried on. "I can't say that I fully understand how you feel since I wasn't born in the industry like you, but I've experienced a lot of changes over the last year too ever since I joined this company. Working with someone who I considered my opponent and, surprisingly enough, getting along with her, putting up with an eccentric boss whose idea of fun is , having to wear such a gaudy outfit everyday and smiling about it, being more considerate of other people and cutting them some slack by taking on their responsibilities, learning to acknowledge someone else's superiority and admitting my own shortcomings... The person I was before all this would rather die than defer to anyone like that, but after much persuasion and seeing how the experience benefited others, she eventually stopped swimming against the tide. So," Kanae shrugs, "here I am now."

"But... Wouldn't you lose yourself in the current if you went along with it?" Hiou asked, sounding hesitant.

"It doesn't have to be that way all the time, you know." Setting her beverage aside, she looked at her co-star and turned him by his shoulders, imploring him to return her gaze, their faces less than a foot apart. "Let me ask you something. Do I seem any less confident to you now compared to when we first met?"

Kanae's gesture almost killed Hiou. His chest ached like something inside was about to burst and his cheeks felt extremely hot, almost as if he had just eaten a bundle of chili peppers if only his taste buds were burning too. He couldn't speak just the same, not until he saw her roll her eyes away from him seconds later and noticed the entirety of the weird, flustered face she was making which, to him, registered as a hallucination induced by those sensations. The Kanae he knows would never make a face like that, he told himself. "I...I don't think you'd ever be you if you weren't so stuck-up," Hiou finally uttered, shaking his head as if to brush off his imagination. "You said it yourself: confidence is like your brand. It makes you stand out among the rest and it's part of what got you here, so why would you change it now?" It's part of your charm, he wanted to add, but was too embarrassed to actually do so.

"See?" The snobbish actress pulled away and assumed a more refined sitting posture with her legs crossed, having rested enough to be able to grant part of her reflexes' demand for poise. "I've said this before too, right? You're a better actor than I am, and if I could adapt to all these changes, so could you."

"Yeah... T...Thanks for believing that," he nodded weakly. "Anyway... About that uniform... I'm not sure if I said this before... Probably not... But I just want to apologize for insulting you about it. Now that I've found out what it meant for you, I feel it was very dumb of me to have said those things to you."

The proud boy's apology effortlessly evoked a wry smile from her. "I don't think there's anyone who has insulted me more times than I have when I see myself in the mirror, so don't worry about it. And after what the staff said about my work ethic here a while ago, apparently it still shows how much I hate wearing this getup and this section."

"At least you get to build character the way other talents couldn't, right?"

"...Hmm?"

"Think about it!" Hiou got up and stood before her in a demonstrative fashion, placing his own can beside hers. He nearly took both her hands on impulse, but his fingers shivered long before they could reach them, warning him of a bold move he wasn't ready for before he pushed through with it unwittingly. Instead he cleared his throat and strove to get back on track. "...Since you're practically working a day job when you're here, office lady roles will be a piece of cake for you. Especially if the character's supposed to be high-strung and tired of living a boring life and of being worked to the ground by mean, lazy bosses. And I bet you could get roles for action movies or shows too since you don't seem to be afraid of heights nor have any motion sickness. They could easily put you on a harness for stunts."

The last bit made Kanae's head tilt. "Are you talking about the kind of shows where characters have to wear a color-specific get-up at all times and form a clique in order to advance the story?"

"I was thinking ninja roles in period pieces or an anime-based role or something," clarified Hiou. "But that works too, you know. I could name you at least three successful names who started out in a _sentai _show."

"Hmm..." Kanae cupped her chin, dissecting his point. "Since we're in Japan, I suppose I'm gonna have to agree. My brothers love those shows and while I wasn't particularly watching with them, I do remember seeing actors who are now famous and have broken all the way through the worldwide scene in there. Personally getting cast on one though... I don't think I'm up for it."

"Why not? You sure look ready to be pink ranger right now," he smirked mockingly. "The first-ever snobbish pink ranger at that. You'll definitely make a mark if you could pull it off."

"Shut up." The idea was about the silliest she heard since Kyoko suggested they wore the overalls for the Kyurara commercial, but she had to admit, the prospect of revolutionizing a very specific role with her talent looks promising enough, if only for the fact that the Japanese audience treat said shows more seriously than others and it will look interesting on her portfolio. And she's good enough to escape the curse of being typecast too. She still leaned on doing more serious projects though, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have a more open mind about it. "..._If _ever I do get offers for action roles like you say," she began coyly. "I suppose I could consider it if a considerable contract is involved, which would be justifiable given that I'm willing to do my own stunts. I wouldn't want to look bad if ever my double does a horrible job, or worse, be criticized for not doing them personally.

"However, I'm definitely going to need a special training program to be able to pull off convincing fight scenes," Kanae darts an indicative glance at Hiou. "Since this crazy idea's yours, I hope you don't mind referring me to people who worked with your grandfather in the past." A second after the words came out of her lips, she realized how brazen it was of her to impose on him like that, so she quickly added, "n-not that I'm taking advantage of your connections, mind you. I just want to learn from the best teachers I could find, is all. Just introduce me to people and I'll handle the rest."

Hearing the favor stunned the younger star for a bit, but found it reasonable enough. "W-well, as long as you don't take your word back if you get an offer for that nor complain about the regimen or the costume, you have yourself a deal," Hiou dared.

"Consider it done." Kanae extended her hand towards Hiou with a collected smile etched across her lips, infecting the younger star with another dose of that painful feeling from a moment ago. It wasn't as bad this time, still overwhelmed to hear Kanae take his suggestion seriously enough, allowing him to return the gesture in the same way he did last month, sealing yet another pact with a handshake.

They exchanged smiles as they held each other's hand, a little too caught up with the flattering feeling of having someone believe in their potential to such lengths that neither of them sensed the presence of a third person in the room. It wasn't until said person cleared her throat that they paid her instant attention.

"I hate to spoil your mushy moment, but the president has been waiting for Hiou-kun at the lobby for about an hour now," said one Chiori Amamiya, leaning beside the door with her arms crossed and eyes looking at them derisively.

"At the lobby?! For almost an hour?! How come we weren't informed of this until now?!" Kanae snarled as she released Hiou from her grasp on reflex. She was beginning to feel as if Chiori was intentionally walking in on them as part of her mind games to try to distract her opponent from their ongoing contest. A fourth time couldn't possibly be a coincidence after all, the encounter at the scaffold being the first in the series. Chiori had been at it all day since she ate the _bento_ _that wasn't supposed to be for her_, leaving those infamous notes wherever she logged her share of requests in. Shredding them had been a pleasure for Kanae, so much that she would've done it voluntarily if she had no need for additional markers.

"If you don't know already, the president's too busy preparing for the press conference later in the evening," Chiori explained. It was obvious she was enjoying seeing her schemes taking effect in some form, but is trying, and failing to belie it under that innocent face she'd often make. Her eyes sparkled a little too much that it gave her intentions away. "He assumed that since you were touring him anyway you'd swing by eventually, but since he didn't, he sent me to tell you."

The answer seemed off but Kanae was already expecting it, what with the president orchestrating it and all. If he was that busy with the press conference, why would he delay the meeting until it was this late in the first place? As... atypical as President Lory is, that's just too unethical for a man of his standards. Tired of being out of the loop all day, she decided to confront Chiori about her suspicion. "Are you sure that's all the president asked you to do? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Nothing, of course." The other LoveMe member shrugged coolly. "Why would I keep anything important from you? What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Do you want an honest answer for that?" Kanae retorted incredulously. This confirmed two of her hunches. One, that Chiori was out to get her, and the other, that this meeting with Hiou isn't as formal as it initially appeared to be. But enough of the latter for now. As much as she appreciated Chiori's unbridled perspective of things, she had pushed it too far with her antics. No, she had pushed it too far when she dared call her a pedophile. And if someone's really asking for a piece of Kanae's mind, she'd gladly give them what they rightfully deserve.

Seeing the deepening furrow between his co-star's eyebrows and the menacing stare she was directing at her colleague, Hiou finally threw himself into the conversation, in the only way he could think of that wouldn't escalate the impending crossfire. "In that case, we should go see Takarada-san now." Upon saying that, he snatched his can from the desk and hurried to the door. "C'mon, let's go get this thing over with so we could have our lunch," he said to Kanae before nodding at Chiori, who smiled and waved at him on his way out like the kindhearted girl she's pretending to be.

"Wait-!" Momentarily snapped out of her furious trance, Kanae picked up the remaining can and downed it in one go just so she could discard it while she caught up with Hiou. The idea of letting him see President Lory alone didn't really sit well with her, so she wanted to be present during their meeting at least to moderate, keep her boss from spilling such sensitive information about her or from giving him all sorts of ridiculous ideas like his counterpart from her nightmare did.

Before she could vacate the room however, Chiori paced in front of her and blocked the exit. "Only him. President's orders." Now that it's just down to the two of them, there was no longer any point in keeping up the farcical diplomacy. "Besides, we have some unfinished business, don't we? I won't stop you if you're that excited to go on that date with him though."

"Shut up and just prove to me you're not all talk." Breathing out an annoyed grunt, Kanae motioned her hand towards her belt bag, daring her opponent to do the same as if they'll be drawing dueling pistols instead of their notebooks to finally settle their score once and for all. When the other finally obliged, the rivals waited and waited in bated breath until someone budged. Neither one of them did, and ultimately, they revealed their hand almost simultaneously.

"Hmph... Looks like you've been slacking off since the last time we compared score. I'm so disappointed." Kanae grinned mockingly at Chiori, making no effort in hiding her delight in finding out that the former child star had only scored three full marks since their last tally, which brought her total to six hundred - a hundred and fifty points behind the confident actress's seven-fifty. "You probably should've spent more time combing for requests than messing around with your notes. Now will you please step aside so I could pad my lead even more?"

Chiori complied as if admitting defeat, although her nonchalance in doing so suggested that she wasn't affected by it as much as Kanae would've loved. "Alright then. I don't feel like being the June in your May-December affair anyways."

"You can imagine whatever nonsense you want about Hiou-kun and myself... Once you're stuffed inside that fluffy coffin." Satisfied with her seemingly decisive victory, Kanae pushed past Chiori without so much as a second glance, the celebratory smile still plastered across her lips. She almost wanted to burst into laughter all the way to the elevator.

Almost, until Chiori revealed her ace.

"After seeing you kiss him so deeply? I think I'll pass...," LoveMe member #3 muttered with disgust.

The remark instantly reached Kanae's ears. It was undoubtedly the most preposterous thing she's heard since people started lumping her and Hiou together. When she wheeled around to respond to it, she was confident she had something new to laugh about. "What the hell are you talking about? You must be delusional or-"

But then she saw Chiori eyeing the empty can of soda in her hands with lips curved up slyly.

It took mere seconds for its implications to sink deep into Kanae's head. even shorter for it to drain her face of what little color it had and make the rest of her body shiver.

"Kotonami-san? Kotonami-san?" Chiori called out to her, even waving her palm across her face.

Kanae could hear and see her antics like a distant vision, but did not respond. Even if she could she probably wouldn't for that'll only give her opponent more reason to gloat upon the sudden turnaround.

But no, she couldn't. No other thoughts came to her as she reflected on what supposedly happened just now and lamented on her oversight, all while unconsciously crushing the aluminum between her fingers with an untapped strength.

* * *

Chapter End.


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